Amarillo, city, seat (1887) of Potter county (and partly in Randall county), on the high plains of northern Texas, U.S. The chief city of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo is located on a sandy playa, or dry lake bed, and the tawny colour of its soil lends the city its name (Spanish: Yellow).

Courthouse in Amarillo, Texas.

Who What Where Nguyen Why

At first called Oneida, the city originated in 1887 as a railroad construction camp and in the 1890s grew to become one of the world’s busiest cattle-shipping centres. Its importance as an entrepôt was further enhanced after 1900, when wheat cultivation and ranching took hold in the region. The discovery of petroleum and natural gas deposits in the 1920s promoted the community’s development as a regional and industrial centre, though growth in the 1930s was limited by the general economic depression and prolonged drought. After 1940, however, extensive irrigation from underground water increased agricultural output.

In addition to oil, farming, and ranching, the city has a large copper refinery and ordnance and helicopter factories. Helium is found in large quantities in the area, and Amarillo is the site of a major helium plant; the six-story stainless steel Helium Time Column Monument was erected in 1968 to commemorate the element. Another unusual monument, lying just west of town, is the Cadillac Ranch, where 10 vintage Cadillac automobiles stand upright, their noses encased in concrete.

Amarillo (junior) College, with the Amarillo Art Center on its campus, was founded in 1929. The city has a notable medical centre, holds a large livestock auction, and is the headquarters of the American Quarter Horse Association, which has a noteworthy museum. West Texas A&M University (1909) is at nearby Canyon. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is 16 miles (26 km) southeast, and Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the wintering ground for thousands of waterfowl, is southwest. Inc. 1899. Pop. (2000) 173,627; Amarillo Metro Area, 226,522; (2010) 190,695; Amarillo Metro Area, 249,881.

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...rates, and periodic droughts, support grazing, dry-land farming of wheat and grain sorghums, and irrigated cotton production. Production of petroleum and natural gas is also important. Lubbock and Amarillo, Tex., are the most important cities in the region; but a less than salubrious climate and isolation combine to restrict population growth.

constituent state of the United States of America. It became the 28th state of the Union in 1845. Texas occupies the south-central segment of the country and is the largest state in area except for Alaska. The state extends nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from north to south and about the same...

city, seat (1889) of Randall county, northern Texas, U.S., in the Texas Panhandle, 16 miles (26 km) south of Amarillo, at a point where the Palo Duro and Tierra Blanca creeks meet to form the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The site originated in 1878 as headquarters for the T-Anchor Ranch;...

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Once the scene of wild buffalo hunts and thundering cattle drives, Amarillo is now the chief city of the Texas Panhandle. Tall office buildings rise beside busy downtown streets. The treeless prairie that surrounds the city forms a checkerboard pattern made up of pastures and fields of grain. Amarillo has a theater company and a symphony orchestra. Each September the city is host to the Tri-State Fair. There is also an annual rodeo and a music festival. Amarillo College, with the Amarillo Art Center on campus, is a junior college operated by the city. Nearby, along a headstream of the Red River, is a trench 1,100 feet (340 meters) deep, in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.